mckenna



.No. 608,379. v Patented Aug. 2, I898.

.E. W. MpKENNA. METHOD bF AND MACHINE FOR BENEWING OLD STEEL RAILS. (Application filed Oct. 12, 1893.) (No Model.) N 2 Sheets-Sheet 067%? ZZZOa/YQYZQ 7776577174 @3 No. 608,379. Patented Aug. 2, I898.

E. w. McKENNA. v METHOD OF AND MACHINE FOB BENEWING OLD STEEL BAiLS.

(Appliation filed Oct. 12, 1893.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

2%01 5 M777 672m @227 W THE cams vzrzns o0. FHDTO-HTHO" WASHINGTON, n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT Erica.

EDWARD W. MOKEINNA, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR To THE MOKENNA STEEL WORKING COMPANY, OF sAME PLACE.

METHOD OF AND MACHINE FOR RENEWING OLD'STEELRAILS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 608,379, dated August 2, 1898.

I Application filed October 12 1893 Serial No. 487,976. (No model.)

No. 4,) of which the following is a full, clear,

concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, form ing a part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improved method of renewing old steel rails and to a machine for accomplishing this result.

In United States Letters Patent No. 522, 228, granted to myself July'3, 1894, I have described and claimed a method of renewing old steel rails, which consists in reducing the cross-section of the rail to make up for metal lost by wear or other cause, but without limiting the reduction to any particular portion of the cross-section, the invention being in this particular generic, while the present application is for an invention specific, in that it relates to the renewing of the rail by reducing the cross-section of the head and web portion only.

I11 my application, Serial No. 487 ,97 5, filed concurrently herewith I have described a method of renewing old steel rails by operating upon the head of the rail alone, whereby the rails may be renewed and used interchangeably with rails of the original standard shape and weight of the renewed rail. It sometimes happens, however, that metal is lost from the head to such an extent that if the head alone were renewed it would be so smallin cross-section as to be inadequate for use interchangeably with rails of its original standard shape and weight. Such rails are those used on sharp curves, in which the side of the head'becomesworn, due to friction with the flanges of the wheels, also rails in which a piece of the head has been chipped away by accident or other cause. My invention contemplates the renewing of such rails not necessarily to be used interchangeably with rails of the original standard shape and weight, but with rails of a somewhat less standard shape and weight. Thus if a ninety-pound rail present such a loss of metal from the head that renewing of the head will make the head of too small a cross-section to be usedinterchangeably with ninety-pound rails I contemplate flowing a portion of the web into the head, thus increasing the amount of metal in the head and decreasing the height to conform to the height of a standard rail of some less weight, say a seventy-five pound rail. My invention in this particular consists in passing the rail throughrolls, whereby a portion of the metal of the web is caused to flow into the head by a transferral process, the head being then brought to the desired shape.

The machine for accomplishing the above process consists in its preferred form of a traveling carriage provided with jaws adapted to grasp the flange and a portion of the web of the rail, the rail having been previously heated to the desired degree-21 6., to a temperature below that at which the carbon will be materially affected the carriage being then impelled forward,whereby the head of the rail is passed successively through rolls that first reduce the height of the rail by flowing a portion of the metal of the web into the head and then effect'a distribution of the metal of the head to impart thereto the desired shape.

My invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine of my invention, a portion thereof being shown as broken away. Fig. 2 is a partial sectional view on line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an end elevation. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the cams that actuate the jaws for clamping the rails and of the mechanism that actuates the cams. Fig. 5 is an end view, partly in section, of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. at.

Likeletters refer to like parts throughout the several figures.

The machine comprises a standard or housing a, supporting the rolls, and a traveling carriage b, traveling in V-shaped ways provided in the frame or bed 0 of the machine.

The traveling carriage supports upon its upper surface the jaws for clamping the rails. In the drawings a machine having capacity for handling three rails at a time is illustrated, but any desired number of rails may sired capacity of the machine. Upon the under surface of the carriage are provided racks U Z), which engage with gear-wheels if driven first in one direction and then in the other to eifect the reeiprocaltravel of the carriage in a well-known manner.

The jaws (Z (Z, c e,ff, between which the rails are clamped, extend throughout the length of the carriage, which is preferably sullieient to accommodate thirty-foot rails, the standard length. The outer jaws (Z and f of the outer pairs are made stationary, while all of the others are made transversely movable, said stationary jaws being provided with lips d and f that engage with corre sponding channels in the carriage forsecu rely maintaining said jaws in position. The transverse movement of the remaining jaws is effected by the cams and 72., which are adapted to rotate about vertical axes, each cam comprising a pair of leaves arranged on either side of the axis of rotation, the periphcries of the leaves being arcs of circles eccentric to the axis of rotation or other curves possessing a varying radius of curvature. These cams are located between the adjacent jaws of adjacent pairs, and when they are so turned that the edges of the jaws engage with those portions of the cams nearest the axis of rotation the jaws are opened and the rails may be inserted or withdrawn, while if the cams be so turned that the edges of the jaws engage with portions of the cams more distant from the center the jaws of the respective pairs are caused to approach and clamp the rails. I preferably employ five such pairs of cams, located at distances along the jaws, and in order to prevent bending of the jaws at points between the locations of the cams the portions of the jaws intermediate between the cams are made of an increased transverse dimension.

The journals upon which the cams rotate extend downward through the bed of the carriage Z1 and are provided with arms '1: 2 rigidly secured thereto or formed integral therewith. The slotted ends of said arms engage with a pin 7., provided upon the reciprocating cross-head 7t". \Vhen the cross-head is in the position shown in full in Fig. 1-, the cams are so rotated that the jaws are caused to engage with the portions of the cams of greatest radius of curvature, and in consequence the jaws are pressed apart. \Vhen the arms '11 i have been moved by the travel of the cross-head to the left to the position indicated in dotted lines, the cams are retated until the engaging surfaces of the cams become those of lesser radius of curvature, and the edges of the engaged jaws may be brought toward one another. The piston-rod 7.1", upon which are mounted the several crossheads that control the movements of the cams, is secured to a piston 7.2, that may be actuated by water, steam, or in any preferred manner, the driving Iluid being conveyed to the cyl inder through flexible pipes or by a sleeve pipe; but an expedient whereby lluid may be conveyed to a moving cylinder being old and forming no part of my present invention in its individual capacity I have omit-ted it from the drawings for clearness.

In the operation of the cams it is necessary that the force causing the approach of the jaws to clamp the rail, as otherwise, the whole of the rail being heated, the tendency would be to compress the web and flange and distort the shape of the rail. This checking may be accomplished by providing means for cutting off; the motive fluid when the piston has traveled a definite distance by counter-balancing the pressure on the piston by a gradually-increasing force or in any preferred manner; but as this forms no part of my present invention in its individual capacity I have not deemed it necessary to illustrate this feature.

The jaws are so shaped upon their faces that they conform to the shape of the flange and engaged portion of the web of the rail, while the upper surfaces of the jaws are proportioned to conform to the proper shape of the under surface of the head of the rail.

It will be observed that the jaws donot extend vertically the whole height of the web of the rail, the object being to leave a portion of the web free to enter the head portion of the completed rail.

The first set of rolls 0 0 through which the rails pass are journaled horizontally and provided with peripheral channels. The channels are of successive]y-decreasing depth, so that the head of the rail as it passes there through is step by step decreased in height, the metal. of the head and upper portion of the webbeingtherebyllowed together. The second set of rolls m 917., through which theheads of the rails pass,are journaled to rotate about vertical axes and act upon the sides of the heads. The rolls of the respective pairs are located at such a distance apart that the width of the head after passing therethrough will be less than the width of the head at the completion of the process of renewing. The heads of the rails afterhaving passed through these rolls pass successivelythrough peripheral channels provided in horizontally-journaled rolls 12 a M The width of each channel I preferably make equal to the desired widthof the head of the completed rail, while the depths of the channels vary, the depth of each being somewhat greater than the depth of that of the succeeding roll. The head of the rail having been rendered greater in height than the desired height of the completed rail in passing through the vertical set of rolls, the first roll it serves to slightly re duce the heightof the head of the rail, pressing the metal to the side, thus increasing the width of the head. The next roll serves to still further decrease the height and increase the width of the head, while the last roll, which is completely filled by the metal of the head in its passage, imparts to the head the properheightand width and the proper shape.

The rolls are journaled so that the rotation is imparted, thereto by the friction of the rails in passing therethrough.

Although preferable it is of course not essential that the width of the channels in all of the rolls before the last be equal in width to the desired Width of the completed rail, and the several widths may be so arranged relatively to the decrease in the height that the head will completely fill each channel as it passes therethrough.

WVhile I prefer to use a machine as above described in renewing the rail-that is, one in which after the breaking-down process the head is first decreased in width to a'dimension less than that of the completed rail, the finishing process consisting in bringing the head to the desired shape by force applied to the top of the head and in the direction of the line of workmy'method may be practiced by the use of the horizontal rolls alone or in any other manner in whichthe metal of the head may be brought to the proper shape. I have found that a more durable rail is produced by completing the rolling process by force applied in the direction of the line of work, since the metal is thus rendered more compact in, the tread of the rail and also casehardened, thereby prolonging the life of the rail.

In application Serial No.- 4S7,S75 I have claimed, broadly, the processof rolling the head of a rail by first imparting thereto a less width and a greater height than the desired dimensions of the head of the completed rail and then bring the head to the desired shape by pressure imparted thereto in the direction of the line of work, and in application- Serial No. 487,975 I have claimedthe method so far as it pertains to the renewing of old rails by operation upon the head alone,

and in this application I desire to limit myself to the process so far as it pertains to the renewing of old rails by operation upon the head and web portion of the rail.

Ihe rolls of the machine being adjusted to turn out a renewed rail of a particular shape and section and the old rails being worn away in different degrees, it is evident that in some rails the cross -section of the rail will be reduced almost in exact proportion to the amount of metal lost, while in other cases the cross-section will be reduced more than in proportion to the amount of metal lost, in

which latter case a small portion of metal will be entirely removed from the rail. It is with these facts in mind that in the claims appended hereto I'have in effect stated that the cross-section of the head and web portions of the rail is reduced to make up for the material lost and to bring the rail to the desired shape, which is to be construed that the cross-section is reduced in exact proportion to the material lost when such reduction will bring the head and web portion to the desired shape, or more than in exact proportion when such extra reduction is necessary to bring the head and web portions to the desired shape.

It Will be observed thatthe machine above described by the insertion of proper jaws and rolls may be used for renewing rails of various standard shapes.

It is evident that if those portions of the jaws that engage with the web be somewhat extended the jaws on closing upon the rail sufficiently to clamp the flange will compress the web, causing an upward flow of the surplus metal. In this manner the whole of the web may be caused to contribute to the in crease in cross-section of the head, and I consider such a process to come within the purview of the claims appended hereto.

In application Serial No. 487,875 I have claimed, broadly, the general features of the machine herein particularly described, and

in application Serial No. 487,97 5 I have claimed, specifically, such features as relate to the action first upon the side of the head of the rail and finally upon the top of the head, and in this application have drawn the claims to such features of the machine as particularly adapt it for the breaking-down processhereinbefore described.

Having described my invention, what. I claim as new, and desire to'secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In amachine for renewing rails, the combination' with means for flowing together the head and a portion of the Web of the rail 0perated upon, of means for maintaining the flange portion of the rail practically intact, means for imparting to the head a less width and a greater height than the dimensions of the head of the completed rail, and means acting upon the tread of the rail in the direction of the line of work for bringing the head of the rail to the desired shape, substantially as described.

2. In a machine for renewing old steel rails, the combination with a traveling carriage provided with jaws adapted to grasp the flange and lower portion of the web, of rolls adapted to flow together the head and a portion of the web, and impart to the rail the desired shape, substantially as described.

3. In a machine for renewing old steel rails, the combination with a traveling carriage providedwith jaws adapted to grasp the flange and lower portion of the web, of horizontallyjournaled rolls provided with peripheral channels of successively-decreasing depths, adapted to flow together the head and a por tion of the web of the rail, substantially as described.

4. In a machine for renewing old steel rails, the combination with a traveling carriage, provided with jaws adapted to grasp the flange and a portion of the web of the rail, of horigontally-journaled rolls 0 0 adapted to flow together the head and a portion of the web, vertically-jour'naled rolls m m situated at a less distance apart than the dimension of the width of the'completed rail, and the horizon I tally-journaled rolls '72 n adapted to reduce the height of the rail and give it the desired shape, substantially as described.

In a machine for adapting old steel rails to further use for their original purpose, the combination with means for flowing together the head and a portion of the web of the rail, of rolls adapted to act upon the metal thus [lowed together to produce a head of the dc sired shape, and means for advancing the rail and maintaining the flange thereofpracticall y intact, substantially as described.

(5. In a machine for adapting old steel rails to further use for their original purpose, the combination with means for advancing the rail, of rolls adapted to act upon and reduce the cross-section of only the head and web of the rail, substantially as described.

7. The process of adapting old steel rails to direction of the line of work, substantially as 30 described.

In witness whereofl hereunto subscribe my name this 11th day of October, A. D. .1893.

ED \VARI) \V. M( KENNA.

Witnesses:

.Tso. I. SABIN, N. L, Conmnun. 

